


With Your Hand In Mine, The World Is Brighter.

by SaiTheWriter



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Festivals, Fluff and Humor, Holidays, M/M, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28212633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaiTheWriter/pseuds/SaiTheWriter
Summary: Sometimes the boss has to be reminded that there are more things in life than work.
Relationships: Reno/Tseng (Compilation of FFVII)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	With Your Hand In Mine, The World Is Brighter.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [annella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annella/gifts).



> Secret Santa for this lovely soul. Please pop on over and read their stuff, you will not be disappointed!

“Sir?”

“Mm?” The Director barely moved his gaze, flicking it back towards the tablet screen with barely a note of question in his hum. He’d been at the small room desk in their room at the inn since they’d come in near an hour and a half ago, steadily prodding notes from his field book into various slides of intel.

“You gonna pretend you don’t know we’re off for the rest of the week?” Reno pressed, leaning over his shoulder to peer at the graphs he was studying. 

“Just because our reconnaissance is done, Reno, it doesn’t mean the actual work is finished.” Tseng reminded idly, tilting a look towards him. “New information means editing any inaccurate points in our initial intel.”

“New information that ain’t gotta be put into use until that big ol’ meeting next Friday.” Reno returned, jabbing lightly at his shoulder. Tseng narrowed his eyes, but Reno knew he had a thread worth unraveling here, thus continued. “Boss, we don’t get to come out here often, come on.” He cajoled, pointing towards the soft powder slowly drifting down from the sky. “We don’t gotta head out til’ tomorrow afternoon, what say we just have a night to relax? Live a little.”

The next give away was the lack of immediate denial. They’d been going non-stop the last three days to ensure their window of time was not wasted, and now that it had well and truly expired, there was really nothing keeping them on track. “Come on, boss.” Reno shifted in, perching a chin on his shoulder, letting his cheek nuzzle against Tseng’s. “We can’t come here under the guise of going to the festival, and not actually go to the festival, yo. Just one night?”

At the slow sigh, Reno leaned back, crowing in delight with a fist in the air. “Settle down. We can’t become a spectacle, so keep that in mind. The street vendors are probably only out in the cold for a couple more hours, so we’ll need to hurry if you actually want to see them, then dinner after.”

He turned, settling his tablet down and remained content to watch in exasperated amusement as the other Turk tore open the coat closet to drag out his puffy monstrosity. An obnoxiously bright green parka, completely the opposite of what he’d just warned the man against. “Reno…”He murmured in warning, turning off his tablet and reaching for his boots to lace up. 

“Relax, Tseng.” The redhead waved him off, flapping a hand dismissively once it was through the squash. “I blend right in with this damned thing. You’re the one that looks like you’re some weirdo about to steal a child with your jacket.” 

Tseng snorted, rolling his eyes and reaching past him for his perfectly functional coat, thank you. A well insulated pea coat, in fact. It wasn’t his fault that Reno decided to shop in the snow bunny section of the store for his cold weather gear. Wordlessly he slid into his jacket and grabbed his scarf, readjusting while he waited for Reno to struggle through putting his shoes on while in that damnable parka.

“Aw, shut up, you’re just pissy cuz I’m right. You’re always tellin’ us to get time in relaxing while we can, but now that you’re dragged into it, you’re cranky. You n’ the VP, I swear. Always working.”

Much as he hated to admit it, Reno was right, he was a workaholic. Not that he’d let on, of course. Instead of answering, Tseng merely opened the door to their room in the lodge and strolled out, taking pleasure in the yelp from the redhead at being left behind. He wasn’t too far behind, in any case, catching up by the time Tseng hit the end of the hall. The man continued to move along despite his second’s rush, mind already mapping out what he’d seen of the festival on entry that evening.

And then he jerked to a halt.

Glancing down at his obstacle, Tseng stared in surprise, Reno blatantly not looking as he finished lacing their fingers together. His gaze tracked up, finding the man completely transfixed on something outside the lobby window. “Figured well, it’d help keep us blended in and shit.” The redhead mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes.

The action set his own stomach to twisting, but not in an unpleasant way. The tiniest of smirks slid over his face, gripping the hand in his briefly before turning towards the main doors. Wordlessly, he pulled them both over, the muffled sounds of life out on the streets raising in volume the closer they got until he pushed open the door and took a step onto the chilly street.

Already his breath puffed visibly in front of him, the cold temperature kissing his cheeks and making him glad of the maroon wool scarf wrapped around his neck. A tug to his hand was all the warning he received before his short attention-spanned lover dragged him towards the first shiny gil stall that caught his eye. 

Thank Gaia the street was lined with geothermal powered heat lamps and the odd fire filled barrel, taking away the brunt of the chill and making it manageable enough to wander the road while the sun began to disappear into twilight. He rolled to a halt and peered over the contents, half ignoring the spiel that the hawker was lining out for Reno while pointing to his space. Inside were several small shelves, each covered in shirts and other apparel proudly proclaiming the Winter Solstice and the icon for this year’s festival logo.

Nothing but cheap paltry drivel in garish colours and material that was likely triple what it was actually wo- gods dammit Reno was buying a beanie of it. “Reno…” It fell on deaf ears, the merchant obviously seeing the disapproval and hastening to move the sale along. Gil changed hands, and the royal blue knit hat with stars and icicles embroidered on the front was slouched onto his head. 

Reno waved cheerily at the man as he thanked them, abruptly turning them around to move along further. “What? Shit was cheap as hell and my ears were cold.” Reno defended at the look flicked up to the hat itself. 

“That price was extortion and you know it. Why didn’t you just bring earmuffs as I suggested?” His own hat kept his ears warm, but that was due to the extra flap cupping the back of his head comfortably within it. That, that right there was money worth spending.

“Aw come on, don’t tell me you ain’t ever blown money on event merch.” The redhead scoffed, tilting in possible interest towards a kitschy stall displaying some rock lamp or other before ultimately shaking his head and moving onwards. “How are people gonna know you went to a concert five years ago that was sold out if you ain’t got a shirt that says so?”

“In conversation, you bring it up in conversation.” Tseng returned blithely, stopping them this time to peer at a corner stall and the rings, pendants, and other jewelry for sale. A little wrinkled old man nodded to him, obviously used to the market and window shoppers. “The stitching in that foul little thing will fall out after a year of washing, mark my words. You should have gotten something that would last.”

“Okay  _ Dad _ .” Reno grumbled, bending to prod at a set of twinkling earrings. There weren’t any spacers for Rude, but a pair of diminutive silver hoops seemed nice, along with the faint glittering of red that came from a thin line of what looked like garnets. “See? These’ll last.” He pointed towards the set and brought out his wallet again, this time making sure they were wrapped up as he took them from the attendant. 

There was no response, and the redhead turned once the lack of response and the merchant’s attention was elsewhere. Tseng stood there poleaxed, the color in his cheeks far more vibrant than it had been before, leading him to believe there was more than cold affecting the man. Slowly his expression turned sly, tugging the man to follow at his side towards the side of the main road away from the brave crowd. “What’s wrong, huh babe?” He all but purred, nosing into his throat and scarf. “Did you like that? Do you want me to call you... _ Daddy _ ?”

The tease seemed to set him back into motion, a gloved hand smoothly sliding up to clamp around his nape with a slight squeeze. “Don’t tempt me, Reno.” Tseng’s murmur was nothing at all near the affable and content mood he’d achieved as they walked. No, this was a soft rumble full of promise, the kind he saved for after hours in the privacy of their rooms. Shakily he swallowed, his own blood heating almost immediately in response. Fuck why had they even left the hotel room in the first place?

By the time his own brain had restarted, the touch was gone, his lover tugging him towards a hot food stand looking completely unconcerned with how Reno’s face flamed. Swallowing thickly, Reno hastened to keep up, inwardly both cursing and laughing at him. Turnabout was fair play, but damned if Tseng wasn’t better at it than he was. Ah well, more for him to look forward to at another date.

For now, he was content to snag a cup of cocoa on Tseng’s dime, grinning at him while he struggled to open his wallet after realizing his hands were full with both a cup and a hand. Something warm curled in his belly, and it wasn't the hot chocolate. It was the realization that neither of them had yet to relinquish their grip so far that night, a silent agreement from the very beginning. The next moment when a successful Tseng tilted towards him with the cup raised, he was blinded by the warm smile sent his way.

Tseng returned it, caught off guard but no less pleased by the expression, guiding them towards another row of stands and the bright colors. Given the state of their hands, they both seemed content to mill and look, sharing murmured commentary on the most pleasing of shops, noting down a couple to peruse after they warmed from their drinks and slowing to a halt at the end of the row. 

There were children out along a small hillock there, tired parents watching the shrieking group as it took turns on a little toboggan or sending lumpy balls of badly aimed powder along one another. Surely the best of babysitters was letting them scurry into a pack and run wild until their batteries died. The emotion was quite infectious, leaving the two to lean comfortably against each other and watch the spectacle as they drained their brews. 

“So fuckin’ glad I ain’t got any.” Reno scoffed after a moment, crumpling the little paper cup once the dregs of his sugary concoction were gone.

“Oh?” Tseng responded, wincing when a child caught a face full of cold powder and began to shrilly cry in earnest. Parents were swift to bring the kid in for comfort, but the damage was done. That coupled with the late hour were likely the reasons the rest of the parents gave in and cut their reprieve short, corralling the youngsters back out onto the street and into the dwindling crowd beyond.

“Nah, shit’s a lot of responsibility. Besides, can you picture two of me? You’d have nightmares.” Reno boasted, tossing his cup into the bin at the fence and slipping through the area the kids had exited the field through. With no other option, Tseng followed, tossing his own and crunching out on the the fresh powder that had no warm cobble street under it to coax into melting. 

No, here it steadily piled up, not fast enough to fill in the trompings of the children, but enough to ensure it would be gone by next morning. Reno led them in until the streetlamps edges were found, pausing in question as Tseng slowed. “No, I can’t.” He murmured eventually in answer, tilting back to regard him. “I don’t think there could ever be anyone like you.”

Reno wasn’t stupid, he understood the meaning. He wasn’t fluent in Wutaian, but he was damned so in Tseng.  _ You’re one of a kind. _ Shakily he chuckled, nose wrinkling as a chilly snowflake lazily settled on the tip. “Yeah? You’re in luck then, I don’t think you could stand two of me.” He teased, squeezing his lover’s hand in his own grip.

“Mm, true. I think I like having a handful with just one.” Tseng was in an odd mood. Call it the cocoa, the festival cheer, hell, even the cool air and bright starlight. Something in the combination left him in a strange yet wholly welcome state of mind. 

A state of mind that left Reno feeling strange as well. And when Reno felt strange, things were sure to happen in quick succession. Thus, Tseng should have been unsurprised when the redhead abruptly tugged them back and onto the fluffy snow. 

Should have. Should have apparently did not apply to tonight. With a surprised noise, the older man plopped back into the unpacked snow, sinking back and luckily feeling none of it thanks to their warm gear. “Reno-!” He hissed out in the quiet of the field, his indignation met with laughter. 

“Loosen up, you agreed to live a little, yo.” Came the reply, his hand wiggling in their mutual hold. “Let go for a sec and follow my lead, it’s so dumb it’ll be fun, promise.” With a scoff, Tseng finally relaxed his hold, only sitting up enough to regard the other Turk with a mildly put upon look. 

Only to watch him spread his arms and slide them up and down in the snow. Reno repeated the motion, smoothly creating arches on either side of him, pausing when he noted his companion motionless. “Come on, don’t tell me you never done this before.” He cajoled, prodding him into action.

Live a little. Taking in a breath, Tseng sank back, copying the motion beside him and picturing the absurdity of it all. They moved out of sync, but the results were the same. In less than a minute they stood, turning to look over their new winged imprints. “Mine’s better.” Reno declared after a moment, earning a slight push of the shoulder from Tseng. “What? It is! Yours has a lopsided one.”

It was true, one sagged slightly, through no fault of his own. He’d left an odd imprint from the get go. “It would have been perfectly fine if you had offered me some warning.” Tseng drawled, turning a bland look his way. 

“If I had, you’d have refused.” Point to him, he knew him well enough. 

“I would have, yes. But at least then I’d be warm.” The chill of the snow was penetrating his coat now, covered as the back was with now melting cold. 

Reno gave him an appraising look, one that continued even as he raised his hand again, open. “Y’wanna go back to the inn? I’m pretty sure I can think of a way ta warm ya up.” He'd wanted to see a couple of stalls still, but they were on the way, there was no reason to think they couldn't still enjoy the evening a bit more.

Tseng found himself returning the smile that look had melted into, reaching out to once again lace their fingers, letting them drop as Reno led them from the field and the figures in the snow that would be gone by morning.

Hand in hand, the warmth began to return.


End file.
